Korean Products We Can’t Live Without

Filed as: TLDR // Responses: 131

Woohoo! This week’s topic comes from angelicad7 from Chicago, who asks

Is there a Korean product(s) you cannot live without and thought “Why wasn’t this introduced back home?”

Yay! Easy topic! We barely had to put any thought into this one. With the more serious topics, like the ones on Homosexuality in Korea or Bullying in Korean Schools, we really have to reflect for a long time about what we’re going to say. But, with this week’s topic, we felt like PFFT! Just turn on the camera and we’ll start yammering.

Seriously, Korea’s a really freaking cool country when it comes to technology. And we’re technology nerds, so this makes us very happy. Yes, we’re Apple fans as well, and – yes – Korea isn’t very Apple friendly, though it’s gotten a lot better since we got here with many more Apple retailers popping up. Come to think of it, I’m not sure if we own any Samsung products here in Korea. Note to potential Samsung Marketing People reading this blog: send us Samsung stuff. Also, don’t read the next sentence. Actually, we just remembered that our TV is Samsung. Nevermind!

Anyhow, the amount of technology here, and the connectivity of Korea is just overwhelmingly awesome. We mentioned a few of our favourite things in this video, but that’s just scraping the surface. Other awesomeness includes:

1) GPS in every car: It doesn’t come built in, but every car we’ve been in has a GPS monitor thingy on the dashboard. It gives you full directions, monitors your speed and lets you know if you’re going over the speed limit for that road, automatically detects if you’ve gone off course and tells you where to turn instead, blinks and flashes and makes noise if your turn is coming up. Oh, and it plays TV for you as well. Watch the game while you’re driving. No joke. These things should probably be illegal, but aren’t, probably because they’re so awesome.

2) Kickass Cellphone Signal: I have never dropped a call in Korea. NEVER. Rarely ever does the signal go fuzzy. Seriously. Even when we’re on the subway, UNDERGROUND. Do you hear that, Torontonians? We can use our cellphones when we’re on the subway, even if we’re at the bottom of a transfer point, with two other subway lines above us. We never lose signal. Not even a freaking blip. Oh, and people can watch TV on their phones as well. Holy crap-your-pants awesome

3) Robo Vacuums: We don’t have one yet, but we want one. I remember watching the CES this year, and seeing a video about a Samsung vacuum that has a camera built into it, so that it maps your ceiling and knows where it’s going. The video was all like “oooh this is awesome and the future” bla bla blah. Went to the Home Plus nearby the next day and saw it on sale. Old news here, boys and girls. Old news.

4) Bidets: Not a fan of them, personally. Don’t want water spraying up my bum hole. But we’ve seen tons of them here, even in public restrooms. TOILET TECHNOLOGY!

5) Motion Sensor Escalators: Haven’t seen these until we came to Korea. A lot of escalators have motion detectors. They turn off if no-one’s on them. If you’re about to get on one and it’s turned off, you pass a motion-sensor thingy that tells the escalator to turn on. FREAKING BRILLIANT!

6) Elevator Buttons that Turn Off: How is this not a standard around the world? Push a button on the elevator by accident? TURN IT OFF! Doesn’t this just make sense? Hell!

Ok that’s it. Maybe there’s more but we can’t think of it right now. I’m sure the question was expecting an answer more along the lines of what we showed in our Wonderful Treasure Finds series, but we never got the chance to gush about Korean technology. Not sure why Korea doesn’t promote that more. Korea Tourism seems to be all about “Come look at our mountains and temples and history and old traditions and stuff.” Forget that. I want to live in the future, and Korea’s offering me the closest chance at that.

Yeah! Also, there was a long scene that we found hilarious, but too long, and too irrelevant to include in the final cut. We present it to you here: here we are trying to call the cops…on each other.

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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=49008353 Jp Cortes

When I was in Tampa they had that bell thingy in Applebees!!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1019645150 Eunice Jo Chung

The bell thingy is in Korean restaurants in LA and in different parts of America.
http://twitter.com/kliseong KLI SEONG

they have bells in America! && they now have that card swiper thing for like american express i think or some company! i’m not sure about that hotspot thing but i want one!

What are the style trends in korea?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Sarah-Parker-Vernallis/100000594191576 Sarah Parker Vernallis

Martina I loved your hair and make up this episode!!! SO PRETTY!!! :)
Anonymous

I’m from Montreal, and last year I went to Berlin for two weeks to study german. Guess what, the keys to my little studio were just like those awesome magnetic keys =0 It was so small I could put it in my pocket, and it was working with all three doors of the block I was living in! Omg when I came back to Canada I was so angry when I found back my stupid (yet enormous) keychain –” Soooo big, with 4 keys looking all the same, and so noisy! First reaction? : “aish chincha…”
http://twitter.com/AeeynEzanee Aeeyn Ezanee

basically almost every ASIAN countries have all the cool products that u mentioned… ASIAN RULES!!!! have i’m from Malaysia and we, ASIAN are so futuristics!!!
http://www.facebook.com/robert.shek Robert Shek

wow!! you guys already have 4G mobile Hotspot in Korea!! Hong Kong is just introducing 4G network and the “egg” is still only up to 3.5G!! Does it include unlimited data usage?
I have seen that bell before in a Japanese restaurant called “Watami”, a casual style Japanese & Western restaurant… Some local restaurants in Hong Kong have developed a system…Each table have a small menu stand with buttons on it and each button refer to specific service t— add water, taking food order, check!
http://twitter.com/Jill_Xi Jill Rei

BB cream just showed up in Vancover or (i havent looked in richmend well enough) its by Garnier don’t know if its a trial to see how well it will do or if it has been a round a while….random thought

http://twitter.com/Caribearblue Cari 캐리

The reviews I saw online weren’t good :(

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=40302290 Andrea Branson

Not really a product per se, but something that will be VERY hard to go back to when I return to the US next month: CHECKS (or as some people spell it, cheques). They don’t use them here in Korea. If you want to give someone money, you just go to your ATM and transfer money into his/her account. You can even do it online. How awesome is that?
Oanh Trinh

they do have the bells in yhis koren restaurant in north America

awkwardturtlesuknowsit

Some restaurants do. If the most of the people at the resturant speak Korean fluently/ Korean is there first langauge than there is a bigger chance that they will have them. I’ve seen quite a lot of resturants (Korean obv) with the bell thingy at Dallas (KoreanLandWorld in North America. Also awesome place to find Korean noms and talk to mah fellow Koreans Holla!… Awkward)

http://www.facebook.com/nItO.tOnY Anthony Nito

we have those escalator thingy’s at pearson…as for cell signals in the subway, there’s been speak of it, dunno if it’s gonna come through though

sorry to my fellow torontonians, but seoul makes toronto look like, how do i put this lightly, a third-world city (and an overpriced one at that…got the shock of my life when i found out that it just cost me 2$ to take a bus to a city outside seoul the same distance hamilton is from TO)
http://twitter.com/Symponya Jessica Jorgenson

*sounds of intense weeping seeping through internet* Guise……I knew you already had the fastest internet in the entire PLANET, but now you’re waving your hotspot…..egg…..*pulls mind out of gutter* and my inner evil Gremlin is coming forth. D’: COME ON AMERICA! GET WITH IT! PLEEEEASE!!! argh. The hotspots we can get here (as far as I know) are still way to expensive for me to handle. (my sis has one….and the internet kinda sucks on it) Anyways……*offers watery congrats on your new favorite toy*
ConceptVBS

Ramen for me :D
awkwardturtlesuknowsit

Okay now visiting my relatives in Korea sounds like an extremely good idea all of a sudden. I really want to go back to Korea.
http://twitter.com/Caribearblue Cari 캐리

America is a tech chobo. Wootz, picking up vocab from Starcraft :p
http://www.facebook.com/saambiguous Sa Doran

the only downside about keypad is if the electricity was ever to go out. you could not get in :-/
Card is pretty cool.
Alex Brown

america sucks at using technology
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QN5ZAMSR26MKWNIUEJPF3EEQOE Julie

i live in la and in the asian restaurants… there are those buzzer thingy’s but, i never really thought they were that cool because the waiter still come to check up…so…. and they always want tips!!!! i had an asian lady come and ask me(after i left the restaurant) if i left a tip…lol^^
and we do have hot spots:) you can turn you’re phone into one:) well any way thanks for the video:) i always enjoy them!
VBNinja

Table Bell…AWESOME!!! Usually when they come to the table to see how everything is…they almost ALWAYS approach while you have a full mouth!!! HATE that. Card Waving Payment System…I LOVE the follow-up text message. Fabulous!
http://twitter.com/animegurl155 Gina :3

Fastest internet in the WORLD?!?!?!?!?
*gets on plane* SK HERE I COME!!! :D
http://twitter.com/Hariko1 Sorcha

i live in ireland and it’s only in korean restaurants that they have the little bells which is a real shame T_T ^_^